Friday, October 15, 2010

Meet EA Intern Shai Bernstein

Shai Bernstein, born in a small city east of Tel Aviv, Israel, has been a valuable asset to Excalibur Almaz (EA) this summer, working with the other engineering interns under the direction of Jon Zelon, EA’s Vice President of Product Development and Systems Integration. With a particular interest in aerospace engineering, Shai has greatly appreciated his time with Excalibur Almaz.

“I’ve gained a lot of experience in a practical engineering application,” said Shai. “This is my first job at a company, so I’ve gained some knowledge at how companies function and gotten some experience working with diverse groups of people.”

Shai’s work at Excalibur Almaz has largely focused on using computer-aided modeling programs to create conceptual designs configurations for the Almaz capsules. With such a wide range of skills, including fluency in Russian, Shai has been a diligent and fantastic member of the EA team.

“For me, working at EA means helping humanity become an ever larger presence in space,” said Shai.

Shai will be a junior this fall at Rice University in Houston, Texas, majoring in mechanical engineering. He also enjoys practicing guitar, reading, martial arts, drawing and playing video games in his free time. In the future, Shai wants to be successful in aerospace engineering and ultimately hopes to go into space himself.

Interesting facts about Shai:

Shai’s favorite book is Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami.

When asked what is his greatest fear, Shai quotes President Roosevelt - “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Ramat-Gan, Israel, Shai’s hometown, is home to the tallest building in Israel, the Moshe Aviv Tower, and one of the world’s major diamond exchanges.